A grieving father wants to warn people about the dangers of exercise and allergies after his daughter died from a rare condition.

The untimely death of fitness fan Maisie Durant, 21, of Chiswick, has inspired dad, Jonathan, to raise awareness of exercise-induced anaphylaxis which is when an allergic reaction occurs after or is worsened by physical activity.

Maisie collapsed in front of her devastated father at the end of January, moments after eating a health bar containing nuts, having previously exercised.

The Royal Holloway University graduate who suffered from a nut allergy since she was small but never knew the severity of it, also wasn't aware that exercise can worsen nut allergies because it causes the blood to pump faster around the body.

Speaking about his little girl's death, 58-year-old Mr Durant said his family want to help protect other people from this.

“Maisie’s normal nut allergy control just didn’t work because she’d been exercising," he said. "Fitness was something she'd taken up more recently. She said she wanted to keep her bum nice and neat.

“Maisie had always taken tablets for allergies, whereas in reality, she should have had an EpiPen and been educated on the risks of exercise.

“What I’d like to see is everybody with allergies be fully equipped and fully educated.”

Mr Durant recalled how Maisie began to feel ill after eating a health bar when she returned home from the gym but died hours later in hospital.

“She was grabbing for her pills for the nut reaction and then it became clear it was a shed load more serious,” he said. “I’m not sure anyone can possibly understand what it’s like to watch that take place. It was horrible.

“The health service did a great job but it was all too late. Now I want to warn people about exercise and allergies.”

Organ donor

Remembering his daughter, he said: “She was fun-loving and the centre of party attention, but also blossoming out for her own career.

“If she walked into a room full of strangers, she could handle that. She was also very bright.

“She liked having fun but there was also a serious, generous side to her. If she wanted something, she worked for it.

“She had a boyfriend, Chesney, and they were planning to go to Berlin together.

“Life was turning into quite an exciting place for her.

“She had a magnificent mix of focus, fun and heart.”

At the age of 16, Maisie became an organ donor and she has gone on to save the lives of three other people - including two kidney failure patients who’ve been on dialysis for five years - who are currently in good health.

After she died, the family set up a JustGiving page in her honour which has been flooded with donations - currently standing at more than £45,000 for The Anaphylaxis Campaign.

Her funeral was held in Chiswick on February 4, where her colleagues from Reed organised a one-minute applause in tribute to her.

A spokesman for the Anaphylaxis Campaign said: “When someone goes into anaphylactic shock, we recommend they lay down, put their feet up, and don't walk around or do any type of movement, because this pumps the blood around the body, so Maisie exercising could've played a part.”